58 arrested in Philippines for sextortion racket

As many as 58 people have been arrested in Philippines over involvement in a global sextortion network, the local police and the Interpol said Friday.

"The modus operandi of this group is to create an online account on social networking sites with the purpose of locating and attracting prospective international clients, especially old male individuals abroad," the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Alan Purisima as saying.

"Whilst they created this account they would pose as attractive Asian females. After getting acquainted with the victims, they'll invite and further entice their would-be victims to use video-call and engage in cybersex and this will be recorded, unknown to the victim," Purisima added.

The footage was then used to extort money, ranging from $500 to $2,000.

"Separate groups were working because obviously, it takes low investment to do this," Interpol Crime Centre director Sanjay Virmani said.

Virmani also claimed that the global sextortion network is massive ranging from countries like Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Britain, the US, Australia, Korea and Malaysia.

The PNP and the Interpol launched Operation Strikeback in November 2013 to curb sextortion activities in this southeast Asian country.